


The Secret Lives of Pokémon

by luckybarton



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Documentaries, Epistolary, Gen, Pokemon - Freeform, Worldbuilding Exchange 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 23:45:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17693450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luckybarton/pseuds/luckybarton
Summary: Snippets from and commentary on a wildlife documentary about Pokémon.





	The Secret Lives of Pokémon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rosencrantz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosencrantz/gifts).



_Pokémon. They’ve been part of our lives since time immemorial, but there’s still so much we don’t know about them—and their behaviour in the wild._

_I’m Professor Samuel Oak, and I’m going to give you a closer look at the creatures you think you know. We know a lot about pokémon in captivity, but much, much less about what they do when we aren’t watching. Welcome to_ The Secret Lives of Pokémon.

 

* * *

 

What’s it like being a videographer for a wildlife documentary? I guess I could say that it’s hard, and that wouldn’t be wrong, but it wouldn’t explain _why_ I do it, past the initial ‘cool factor’. It’s hard, but it makes itself worth it. You see so much you’d never get to see otherwise. Stuff which only happens in the far reaches of Kanto, like the Gyarados migration and massive single-species communities of pokémon with complex behaviours and societies. You might have to carry your equipment up an icy mountain, but there’s a nest of Articuno at the top. On the other hand, you might have to trek miles through a forest—only to find that the Venonat you thought were there... aren’t.

I guess the thing is, you have to be okay with the ‘only’. You work hard, and you ‘only’ achieve this and ‘only’ manage that. But you’ll already have done more than most people ever get to. So you take your disappointments, and you measure them up, and you appreciate them.

 

* * *

 

_Pikachu, for all their reputation suggests, are a surprisingly prolific pokémon. They live in large groups, most commonly in forested areas, and have been known to defend their territory by threatening any suspicious characters with an electric shock._

_So why are they commonly thought to be rare? And why is seeing a trainer with a Pikachu such an unusual occurrence?_

_Beyond their hostility, Pikachu live a large part of their lives underground, and rarely venture long ways away from their homes—which they share with hundreds of others. These dwellings are rarely found near the areas Trainers are likely to venture into—and as the kind of food Pikachu eat doesn’t grow in long grass, they don’t tend to stick around there for long._

 

* * *

 

The Pikachu? Okay, they were the worst part of the whole thing—well, for me, anyway. One of the camera guys got his hair singed by a Charizard. We thought he’d lost his eyebrows. It was terrifying.

Or, er, I guess there was that bit where we got chased by a flock of angry Fearow. That was nasty, and avoidable. Production was furious.

Anyway, Pikachu are territorial, and get more so in large groups. We were entering one of the largest known Pikachu nesting grounds in Kanto, and we needed to make sure they didn’t hate us. That was easier said than done—our eventual solution was to make ourselves smell like them, which involved rubbing yourself down in the most noxious stuff you’ve ever seen, thrice daily. We also did all the preliminary shooting from as far a distance as possible, so if they turned on us then we’d still have something to go on.

 

* * *

 

 _It’s often assumed that the reason that the pokémon Trainers catch are weaker—and usually at a lower evolutionary stage—than ones who have been trained over a long period of time because wild pokémon are inherently_ bad at being pokémon. _A common misconception is that the only way a pokémon gains skill is through fighting, and the rigorous training provided by humans is the only way for pokémon to reach their full potential. It’s true that high-level, final-stage pokémon are less common in the wild, but they aren’t nonexistent._

_A key illustration is the Gyarados migration, occurring in the south each year. Gyarados stream in from the ocean en masse to lay their eggs in rivers upstream—eggs that will hatch into Magikarp, which will go on to make their own journeys._

_Folk theory suggests that these Gyarados must have constantly fought as Magikarp. To be able to evolve into Gyarados, they must have engaged in persistent, ineffectual battles until they finally gained enough experience._

_What this fails to account for is that life as a wild Magikarp is a perennial struggle. They must avoid predators like Seel and Tentacool, while also searching for food and travelling great distances through water. Magikarp, and all wild pokémon besides, grow in ability through their everyday activities. It takes longer for them to reach the same level as a trained pokémon, but it does happen._

_As for why these pokémon are rarely encountered, recent surveys have shown that the further a pokémon is from human activity, the more likely it is to have higher-level abilities or be in a further stage of evolution. The cause is inconclusive, but there are a number of plausible theories that may yet explain this mystery._

 

* * *

 

It’s true that The Secret Lives of Pokémon was edited to produce a more cohesive story, but I think that critics don’t realise that what they’re asking for—the raw footage, with little interference—isn’t of much more use, except for research purposes. Yeah, there was more than one Pikachu family in reality. Yeah, we didn’t chase a single Gyarados all the way from the ocean and back again. What we were trying to do is create a representative story—one which would show the daily life of _a_ Pikachu family, and the Pichus growing up. Or _a_ Gyarados, returning from the sea to lay eggs.

Some will say that parts of the program are clearly dramatized. But anything you saw happen did really happen, and wasn’t induced by the crew. Another thing to keep in mind is that the purpose of The Secret Lives of Pokémon is to tell stories as well as educate. Stories which get people interested in learning about their world and the creatures they share it with. There are so many other resources you can get a more in-depth look at pokémon with—books, studies, research magazines, and more. And I’d say that if we inspired anyone to go check those out, we’ve done our job.

 

* * *

 

_The Secret Lives of Pokémon is presented by Professor Samuel Oak for the Kanto Broadcasting Company. Special material includes crew interviews and a special extra with the producer. To find out more, go on our website or consult your nearest Pokémon Center._


End file.
